I really think you'll be happier going with a darker gray. If you don't like it after it's finished, it would be easy to change the color with a grout pen.

hmmm ok....I had never thought of that

The biggest problem with dark grout is any mistake or smaller/larger spacing is glaringly obvious

What are you suggesting then Cheryl? White grout?

Just saying dark grout will show any flaw. I suggest looking at a lot of pictures of different bathrooms to see what you like as a whole

You definitely need someone who knows what they're doing if your going to add darker grout to white tiles. But I just don't like the white grout with black tiles. Who is doing your tiling rberesh?

I’m having a professional do the grout and tile

Little update and this may help with finding a colour to paint the bathroom. Suggestions welcome! Shower work has begun

Nice! Your options are wide open for paint colors. You could do a simple off white like the background of the tile or add any color you want. What other colors are in the rest of the house?

love seeing your progress. it inspires me for our 2x2 shower we need to gut.I would keep the paint light with the dark floor. Those tints like Sea Salt that change with light and other accent colors can go with lots of other colors. Finding rhe right off white, grey or beige can be tricky. good luck you are almost there.

Thanks so much katinparadise! Actually....great question that will lead to perhaps my next reno. I'm looking into redoing the laminate throughout the whole upstairs. Picture suggestions would greatly help! Most of my main floor is painted the colour called "touch of grey'. The basement area is an even greyer colour. I'd have to find the name.

Upstairs...ALL the rooms need repainted and all the flooring needs to be redone. Again picture suggestions are really welcome! The doors upstairs and on the main floor are a really really dark stained oak. I can show pics if you like.

Thanks Kathleen MK. This site and the people on it have been great and give great suggestions and definitely encourage me to do further renos. I didn't want to initially gut, but the shower needed to be done badly and well one thing lead to another.

Well, you can stick grays if that's what you prefer but a bathroom is a nice place to do something a little different if you're feeling adventurous.

If you're doing laminate upstairs, what is on your downstairs floor and stairs? I just redid my laminate in my whole house everywhere I didn't have tile (1400 s.f.) I used a laminate by Kronen Hahn, in Almond. My floor guy was impressed with the quality for the price I paid ($1.79 s.f. plus underlay). It's a microbevel and is water resistant with waxed edges. The planks are 7.75" wide. This is what it looks like. (Pic is lighter than the actual floor but it has nice variants of tone in it).

http://kronenhahn.com/product/almond-2/

Here’s a paint suggestion

Thanks for the paint suggestion!

I’ll show some pics of my staircase and main level to see if that helps with laminate choices!

Few more updates! Shower flooring put in, grout and vanity next!

It's coming along nicely! What color grout did you decide on? Are those real marble hex tiles on the shower floor? If so, I believe they need to be sealed before they're grouted in order to avoid staining. Just be sure only the tops are sealed and that the sealer doesn't run down the sides or it will keep the grout from adhering correctly. You might want to do some research on that before the grouting gets finished.

I actually went with a charcoal grout for the floor and a white for the shower

Beautiful rberesh73

Nice. Don't forget to do the research on those hex tiles. I'd hate to see them end up stained after coming so far.

What are your plans for mirror, faucet, and lighting?

Ah..thats the next step. I do need to find a mirror, facets and lighting...and hope to decide on a paint soon. Again picture suggestions are most welcome. I'm also thinking of getting my bedroom repainted as well. Should they be 2 different paints? If so, any suggestions?

This flooring runs through the upstairs.

To expand the topic a bit, I'm looking to finish off my upstairs a bit. The ensuite is step one basically. What I'd like to do next is find a paint to repaint the bedroom and secondly, replace the current laminate flooring throughout. I will go with some sort of laminate again but I've never been a fan of the kind that came with the house. In the pictures above you can see the colour of the dark trim, doors are the same colour throughout and you can see the white spindles from the staircase. Just to give an idea of what I'll be keeping and what i'd be working with. Any picture ideas for flooring are most welcome and also for bedroom paint.

What color faucet are you looking for. I presume you'll need a new shower head and faucet in the shower as well. I used the Moen Eva. I thought it was pretty and a bit modern.

I am very impressed with the quality as well. I also invested an extra few dollars in the Kraus pop up drain.
It was so simple to install and I love how easy it is to operate. No need to mess with the chair and lever pull and having to connect them to the faucet. There is also a two handle version available. Will you be doing wall sconces on either side of a mirror or an overhead fixture?

No need to paint the bathroom and bedroom the same colors as long as they coordinate. Any direction you're leaning on bathroom color?

As far as the bedroom, decide what you're going to use for bedding and let that inform your choice for wall paint.

Ahh ok. I"ll look for that fawcet and drain! Thank you for the pictures and names! The more specific the better! Hmm..not sure. There was a colour a painter had suggested, I can't remember if he recommended it for the bedroom or the bathroom at the time. It was called Cloud 9. Not sure where that would work best. I'm not really committed one way or the other for bedding so I'm up for anything. The bed frame itself is a fairly dark brown, almost to the point of black depending on lighting.

Here are some pictures of the paint

I love your choices. It's going to be beautiful! You asked about mirrors. In a cool-toned bathroom like yours (black, white and gray) it might be nice to bring in a warm wooden element. In my otherwise very cool-toned bathroom (marble counters, SW crushed ice paint, white painted vanity and tub panels, chrome fixtures), I installed a stained alder linen/laundry cabinet, I tucked in a few stained alder floating shelves in a weird nook that would have been wasted space, and I bought a teak shower stool, to bring in some warm elements. Other than those elements the rest of the bathroom is cool-toned. The contrast is really pleasing to my eye. Your mirror frame might be a nice place to bring in a warm element. Or if not the mirror frame, maybe something else like a teak bench, or some floating wooden shelves in the toilet area. It's a personal taste thing, but to me, the warmer elements make the cooler elements more beautiful, and the cooler elements make the warmer elements more beautiful. I lean "cool" so my spaces tend to be about 2/3 - 3/4 cool all over, and the balance is warm pieces. In your space, I'd use a cool/neutral wall paint, and bring in warm elements to give your eye a warm place to rest.

The cloud nine is a beautiful color and I think it would work well in your bathroom. A test sample is the only way to tell for sure though.

I completely agree with ssdarb that adding in a few wood elements will bring some warmth to the room. I did the same in my guest bath this is made up of cooler colors.

Thanks! Should i go with a lighter colour for the bedroom?

Love all the progress! Keep up the great work

Do you have pictures of the bedroom? It really does make sense to pick bedding first. Otherwise, you can't beat a pretty off white.

Hi and thanks again! I honestly don't have any bedding i'm committed to. I'm so sorry for all the questions and but I've received such great help here that I hope everyone doesn't mind.

So to in my goal to finish the upstairs bathroom I need faucets (i'll look for the one suggested) a mirror and lighting. Picture suggestions are most welcome!

Next i'd like to get the bedroom painted and I need new lighting in there. See pictures below (again picture suggestions welcome. I currently have for lighting in there these weird hanging diner type lights that hang from the ceiling.

Lastly on my 'current agenda is the flooring. I want to replace that with a new laminate that hopefully will work with the doors and trim etc.

What is your budget for a mirror and lighting? How wide is the vanity? How much space do you have between the top of the vanity and the outlet for the lighting.

Honestly, I like the paint color you have now in your bedroom. It's nice and neutral and you can use any colors for bedding and accessories. What color is it? Pictures from all 4 corners of the bedroom would help a lot.

Your flooring does seem a bit on the orange side. What color are your trim and doors painted?

Hi there my current laminate is called golden oak. My trim and doors is painted in something called poly shade. It’s really tray dark brown, I’ll see if I can find the exact shade.

The name of the paint on the floor trim, around the windows, and basically my bedroom furniture is called espresso.

Home stretch now !! Just a few outlets need to be changed and I forgot to get lightbulbs but here it is!

Coming along beautifully! You're almost done, don't forget the drain ;) They are currently on sale!

It looks wonderful! That's quite a transformation!

It looks great rberesh73 enjoy

What the bathroom basically done I can really see how dated the bedroom has become. I’m still searching for a laminate but in the meantime a paint and some suggestions for wall sconces would be ideal!

What don't you like about the bedroom color? I like the off white and it happens to be right on trend now. Which direction do you want to go with it? Can you post pictures of the whole room?

Hmm to me the paint in there seems almost yellowish. I even have led bulbs and I still get that effect. The room itself just needs ‘something’ . Ha when you see the lights you’ll know those need updated for sure. I will take pictures tomorrow for sure

it would be better to start a new post on that.

Pics of the bedroom

So my next step will be to update this adjoining room a bit. About the only thing that would stay will be the furniture

Love your shower! Where did you get your wall tiles? I love the subtle pattern! I'm looking for something like that!

A corner shower doesn't have to be small if you are willing to pay for a custom installation. Do not buy a cheap prefab unit. Moving plumbing is always expensive but you could have the look you want.
Please post a to-scale floorplan of the existing bathroom showing location of plumbing, window, doors, etcetera. We can make more good suggestions if we know what you are working with.

Hi kayca I bought the tiles at Lowe’s . Bit more expensive but worth it.

I don't see yellow in your paint on my monitor but perhaps something in a nice off white would work better for you.

I see what you mean about the lights. You have the perfect opportunity to add beautiful wall sconces in there. What kind of feeling do you want the room to have? Can you look through some of the photos of bedrooms here on Houzz and post some that make you feel good? You could search "bedrooms with dark furniture" to see what comes up.

Thanks katinparadise. Yes it’s hard to see in the pictures. I agree that I think a nice off white would be good. Also some nice scones would help. Hopefully I come across something for inspiration

I forgot about this thread. Here is the finished bathroom.